Transylvania to Pennsylvania and beyond! Final thoughts

[BONZO]

Cast list (the usual):

Me: Shaun, Intrepid Traveller

Her: Alison, Slightly less intrepid traveller, but planner supreme and finds the good deals!

Trip Report Index HERE

Flights / Travel

As you’ve probably guessed already we just love flying and a holiday is as much about the travel as the destination. Ok, we have or are becoming somewhat obsessed with collecting Tier point and Avios and maintaining BA status but everyone needs a hobby!

The delay on the journey home was over 3 hours, which meant we got compensation of just over £700 - plus 10,000 Avios between us for the lack of catering and insufficient voucher for the airport.

Good news!

We earned 780 tier points towards our total of 1500 for the year (to try to maintain our gold status)

Bucharest

We weren’t sure what to expect and we were pleasantly surprised having not been this far East in Europe before. The city should be really beautiful and a destination in its own right but seems to need just a small uplift to bring it into line as a major European city destination. All of the elements are there, wide boulevards, impressive architecture, fountains, museums and large city parks. But somehow, and I can’t quite put my finger on it, it just misses the mark but not by much. Possibly one to re-visit in a few years’ time to see what’s changed.

Transylvania

Loved being up in the Carpathian Mountains and the countryside here, quite unspoilt and off the general tourist track. The area we visited appeared to be more authentic and I guess the further North from the city you go the more it gets like this.

Philadelphia

This place had a good vibe about it - we really liked it here. We only just scratched the surface so one for another trip. Lots of historical revolutionary items and places but not as polished as Boston. Definitely a place to visit in more depth later.

Phoenix

Not quite what I was expecting, I thought it’d be full of cowboy / western references but not at all. We soon realised why it was so cheap here in July, the weather was simply like a furnace! Maybe we shouldn’t really see Phoenix as a destination in its own right, more of a place to stop over or travel through to and from somewhere. The main attractions were a good 2, 3 or more hours drive away so you’d need to factor in a whole days driving to see big ticket items.

Sedona

We liked it here and somewhere that’s ideal to visit in Summer as it was cooler. Dramatic landscapes all around and a less expensive place to stay.

Flagstaff

The place was fine but I just didn’t feel the love to be honest, it seemed to exist as a stopover place on Route 66 and quite small and compact with not a huge amount to see and do for us.

Overall

We had a great trip and loved hopping from place to place (as always). The flights are as much part of the holiday as the destination!

Thanks for reading!

Next trip – Singapore in September!

[Melbatb]

Thanks for another interesting trip write up!

Enjoy Singapore!

[Cutiepie]

Thanks for another great reportlove reading about all the different destinations. Keep it up

[sparkles18]

Thanks for another great report and can’t wait for the new one. Enjoy Singapore.